SYDNEY, –:Australia’s two-year drop in influenza cases has ended, with flu numbers rising well ahead of the winter months and experts urging people to get vaccinated.
Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, when large sections of the population were in lockdown and international borders were closed, flu numbers plummeted to record lows.
Experts note that the scenario has changed, and they are subsequently predicting flu cases will rise while COVID-19 lingers on.
That was the message at an online journalist briefing hosted by the science-based website Scimex on Wednesday, where leading epidemiologists and immunologists discussed what the next few months could hold.
Prof. Catherine Bennett, the chair in Epidemiology at Deakin University, said that with international borders having reopened, there was “no way” Australia would avoid a rise in flu cases.
Bennett also stated that many people, having not encountered the highly contagious flu virus for a long time, could now be even more susceptible.
